


is it warm, out west?

by dressruffles



Series: femmexo bingo fills [2]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - High School, Gen, Pen Pals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-04
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-31 02:09:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6451273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dressruffles/pseuds/dressruffles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>hey check it out im in the news lol</i> Sehun texts to her one day.  [long distance relationship/pen pals au.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	is it warm, out west?

**Author's Note:**

> taemin makes a brief cameo -- because it's jongin, so of course taemin makes a brief cameo. I tagged the pairing, but it's more pre-relationship/pretty platonic in this snapshot. but! I tagged the pairing, just in case you want to read this as a pre-romance type of deal, because I never made up my mind if that was kind of what I was aiming for or not.
> 
> ((reposted from lj.))

_hey check it out im in the news lol_ Sehun texts to her one day. Well, it comes while Jongin's in the middle of dance practice, so she doesn't see it – ‘it’ being the link that's copy and pasted in the text – until come the next break. When she reads the text, while sipping on her water bottle, it sounds harmless enough, so Jongin clicks it.

The news tidbit that loads has Jongin coughing up her water and cussing lowly, "What the _hell_?"

Taemin looks over at her with raised eyebrows, pausing in the middle of bunning up her hair on the top of her head, but whatever. Jongin ignores Taemin's inquisitive stare and instead immediately types in the number to call Sehun's cell while ducking out into the hallway.

"Hello?" But it's Sehun's mom who picks up, which is worrying because – 

Because, well – Jongin’s throat tightens as she leans against the wall behind and flounders for a second before blurting out quietly, "Sehun got hit by a car?"

There’s a pause before Sehun's mom sighs, but her tone is for the most part gentle and patient, which calms Jongin down a little because that probably means Sehun's okay. "Hello Jongin,” she says evenly, and Jongin remembers to squeak out something resembling a greeting.

Sehun’s mom laughs a little, though it sounds mostly like she’s just doing it to fill the silence. “I saw that Sehun texted you earlier,” she admits. “Snuck it while I was out of the room getting food.” 

Jongin smiles a little to herself, because that’s good. All signs are pointing in good directions that Sehun’s okay, if she’s acting like her usual bratty self. “Yeah, with a link to local news article about ‘girl gets plowed by SUV’.” Jongin scrunches up her nose and shivers a little at the thought of worst-case scenarios. “Not the best way to break the news, I’d say."

Sehun’s mom sighs again, this time sounding like she’s steeling herself. Jongin can hear her repositioning the phone, the line picking it up as rustling static, so Jongin steels herself too. "It was a few weeks ago," Sehun's mom finally says. "It happened at a crosswalk with a stop sign – the driver wasn't paying attention when he tried to go – ”

Jongin slides down the wall, grimacing as her bobbed hair catches a little on the brick on the way down. She can’t even begin to imagine the ‘what ifs’, the ‘worst case scenarios’ that could have happened instead. There’s weird pressure building in her throat, so Jongin reminds herself that Sehun’s actually _fine_ , being a weirdo over text and all that.

“So yes,” Sehun’s mom says. “She's not too...too bad off. And she's doing better. Had a concussion and some bruised ribs and a fractured arm, but the only thing that was broken was her hand."

That's…actually kind of a lot of things wrong – but Sehun's mom doesn't audibly seem too stressed and worried about it, so Jongin will take it at face value. She still can’t help but ask, "Is she – is everything fine?"

Sehun’s mom laughs. "You’re always such a darling,” she says fondly, and it makes Jongin blush and duck her head in embarrassment. “Yes, everything is fine, Jongin. We had a few rough days in the beginning there, but...well. Now she's sending you ridiculous texts, so it's a good sign her pep is coming back."

Jongin laughs a little as well – and waves an acknowledging hand at Taemin who’s peeked out from the practice room and is now mouthing _’Madame’ll be back in two’_ at her. Pep is one way of putting Sehun’s tendency of shocking Jongin when she least expects it, sure.

 

+++

 

Jongin having Sehun's phone number is a relatively new thing. They've had email correspondence for most of their year-plus of friendship, kicked off by some pen pal project their high schools – sister schools, despite Jongin’s school being on the East Coast and Sehun’s in northern California – set up freshman year for a month and a half. Most people had dropped it the second the assignment had run its course, but Sehun and Jongin had stuck with it well afterwards, having gotten along well and fostering an actual friendship. Jongin ended up liking Sehun because she was bratty and absurd but also cared a lot beneath the prickly exterior. Sehun had most of the same interests as Jongin and also she was actually the same age as Jongin, who's other friends were all at least one grade above her.

They had traded phone numbers maybe four months ago, sticking to texts. Then phone calls every now and then had become the norm two months ago. And last month they had started planning for Jongin to fly out to spend a week or two at Sehun's come this next summer.

Absurdly enough, that's what Sehun is focusing on when she finally gets permission to sit up long enough to call Jongin. "I should totally be back to top health by the time summer hits,” she’s saying firmly, as if Jongin is going to try and cut her off mid-sentence. “It's November. So yeah, that's seriously enough time, I think."

"Cool, so am I talking to Sehun, or to Sehun's painkillers right now?" Jongin asks, incredulous and a little annoyed that Sehun would think that the trip, and not Sehun herself, would be the first thing she'd worry about. 

When Sehun makes a sound of discontent, Jongin makes a huge show of sighing. "Look, I'll still come even if I have to change your bedpan routinely and act as your only capable set of hands the whole time I'm there."

"...rude," Sehun says after a long, unimpressed pause. "You're so rude, I don't even _have_ a bedpan."

Jongin grins to herself. "But if you did, I'd change it. Am I amazing or what?" Jongin can almost hear Sehun's scowl.

"Seriously, though," Sehun mumbles. "I'm going to be fine, so don't worry. And don't, for one second, think of blowing me off and not coming because you think I can't handle it or something."

"Yeah, yeah," Jongin says casually, like it’s not a big deal. But hearing the words _‘I’m going to be fine’_ straight from Sehun really does make her heart feel a little lighter. "Well, then you don't even think of trying to hide stuff from me in the meantime. All the months of PT you’re going to be in is going to be no joke, you know?"

Now Jongin can practically hear Sehun rolling her eyes. "I'll make sure to send you every detail and picture of me enduring grueling exercises."

Jongin, on her laptop and half doing her math homework, opens up a new tab to go through her old bookmarks of all the cool things to do out where Sehun lives, all the reminders of things she needs to pack, the best sites and dates to buy her plane ticket at cheap prices. 

"Yeah, you'd better," Jongin says fake-menacingly over the phone, and smiles at how Sehun snort-laughs at her tone. She can't wait for this summer.


End file.
